Recollection For Good Friday
When I was eight years old, I committed my first act of poetry. (At least the first decent piece!)
Our Gr. 3 teacher read us the Easter Story from the King James version of The Bible, (they were allowed to back then) and we were instructed to tell it in our own words in the form of a rhyming poem. Now, I have been a Gr. 2/3 teacher for several years and realize that this is no easy task for kids this age.
I very quickly came up with a very succinct, bare bones Reader’s Digest version of the whole elaborate story, but somehow, I still think the 4-liner basically works!
Jesus died at Easter time
And they hung him very late
But then he rose up from the dead
And now we celebrate!
Well, probably she hadn’t done the lesson yet about adding details! I was so proud of getting a gold star and having my piece put up on the top of the bulletin board, a very prestigious placement as I remember.
That teacher encouraged me to write many other poems and stories, and to be proud of my unique ideas.
Thanks, Mrs. Cummings! You helped launch, cultivate and nurture my life long interest in writing.
I’m giving YOU a Gold Star!
Oh, and have a Happy Easter!
Mother of Invention
Labels: Good Friday, Poems. Grade School Teachers
posted by Mother of Invention at 5:48 PM
27 Comments:
That is a fantastic little poem.
Friday, April 06, 2007
That poem says it all! Nothing like childhood to cut to the core of something.
I, too, remember that first 'real' poem. I'm pretty sure it was in 3rd grade, too. We had to write about a color, so I chose brown as I figured everyone else would choose the prettier colors and I didn't want brown to feel bad. It was long and rhyme-y and started something like:
Brown is soft, like a teddy bear
Or brown can be the color of your hair...
Grade 3 must have had something about 'thou shalt teach them to write poems' in the international curriculum.
Friday, April 06, 2007
Teachers are so important to our society, it is practically a crime that they are treated - undervalued and underpaid. Teachers like your Mrs. Cummings that have a life-long impact on their students should be celebrated. From what I read here, I bet you were a great teacher too.
by the way, "I committed my first act of poetry" made me laugh out loud. If I were brazen enough to write poetry, I would be locked away for perpetrating a crime upon the rest of you.
Friday, April 06, 2007
Brava to you for still having the poetry you wrote at age 8! (Is it in a box in your attic labeled "Grade 3"?) Even then you had a way of succinctly stringing together words that said it all so well.
Friday, April 06, 2007
IT is a good poem that sums it up. Many people seem to think it is important to say more than less - which is anathema to good writing, which stresses no wasted words.
Friday, April 06, 2007
Wishing you a lovely Easter.
Bless teachers everywhere.
Friday, April 06, 2007
You put it so well and simply. Nice! Happy Easter!
Friday, April 06, 2007
"I committed my first act of poetry"
ha ha ha ha ha!
Ok, here's my first "act of poetry" also done when i was 8.
A Poem.
A Poem is a thought
About something you bought
Or something you got
Or something you thought.
Or even about something that's not.
My teacher argued with me over the last line, wanting to know what it meant when i thought it was obvious.
Happy Easter to you!
Friday, April 06, 2007
I wrote my first poem at age 6 or 7, for McCalls magazine, who always published kids poems every issue. They never wrote me back and my poem never appeared. Ooh, crushing blow at a tender age!
I loved your poem, and your teacher...mine was Mrs. Knapp.
Have a Good Weekend!
Friday, April 06, 2007
Reminds me of an Atwood short story in which Miss Bessie (the teacher} is asking the class what "last" means in their study of "The Last Dutchess".
Only in that the early years of learning tend to impress and be remembered. I recall a girl doing a math problem at the board, in 5th grade, and making it crystal clear to me how to do the problem. It was a percentage.
Nice post, and I like your poem.
Friday, April 06, 2007
Mrs. Cummings certainly did the right thing and it was a great start for your poem career. It really show how important it is to have a encourage teacher and you have really nurture to become one yourself!
Oh, and a Happy Easter to you and your family too:-)
Friday, April 06, 2007
Happy Easter MoI......I love that age group.....my youngest is 6 and a half......he always cuts to the chase.....for instance the other day, at a restaurant, he asked for a quarter to go to a candy / toy machine. I pointed out to him that he had plenty of candy and junk at home.....He pointed out that the machine had no candy in it....just toys.....LOLOLOL
well, it was pretty funny to me....
rdkitty
Friday, April 06, 2007
Gr: Thanks! You make some fantastic little animals, Pottery Man!
Diana: I love that you chose brown so it wouldn't feel bad! Do you have the rest written down somewhere? Yep...Gr. 3 seems to be the grade looking at all the other comments here!
Bob: Thanks so much for the teacher support...I know your kids' teachers appreciated it immensely too. We do have a lot of impact. Imagine me writing about her 40 years after the fact and she's not even on this earth anymore! The effect is far-reaching. I still see kids in my small town I taught 25 years ago!
Ah, I bet you could commit an act of random poetry without being taken away in a squad car!
Barbara: Thanks..I don't have it anywhere...it was just in my memory. I have almost nothing of my work as a kid. Most of my writing I have is since I was 24 or so.
Richard: Thanks and you're right, poetry is the art of capturing an image or idea in few but very carefully chosen words. Kids do this naturally, so it's tricky when you want to teach them how to flesh out a bare bones story with descriptive details.
I'm much "wordier" now!
Coll:Thanks! Everyone must have had a "Mrs. Cummings" sometime! I hope so.
Brooksba: Thanks on one of the shortest poems I've ever written!
Meno: I LOVE the last line! Quite clever. Yes, it is obvious...too bad all teachers weren't as creative as most of their students! You would have thrived in Mrs. Cummings' class! Thanks for that!
Mona: Thanks. BLOG it now..or send it in to McCalls again! HA! I'm glad you had your "Mrs. Cummings" in Mrs. Knapp! You are a great writer.
Goatman: Welcome and thanks very much. I can remember vignettes of my childhood so clearly still, it's amazing. It is neat for me then, to think that I have had this kind of impact on kids aged 5-13 over 26 years of teaching! I get to see and /or hear about many of them as I live in the area still.
Renny: Exactly! She passed ot to me and I keep it going...a full circle thing which is cool. Thanks, Renny. Enjoy your time at your summer place!
RDG: That's the cool thing about kids...they are so literal, they can easily get you on a technicality! I think your son will make a good lawyer!
Friday, April 06, 2007
Hi mother of invention. Just dropping in to wish you peace and grace this easter.
Friday, April 06, 2007
I think blogging has helped me to become less wordy. Although ... I have been known for my terseness.
Friday, April 06, 2007
cute x
Saturday, April 07, 2007
"They hung him very late"
Kind os leonard Cohenish for a 3rd Grader, No?
Happy Easter, Mom, don't eat too many eggs (Chocolate)
Saturday, April 07, 2007
I always love reading your poetry. It's very thought-provoking and touching!
Happy Easter!
Saturday, April 07, 2007
Twilite: Thanks and same to you in far-off Australia!
Richard: I've seen you both long-winded and verbose, and short and sweet. Guess it depends on the topic and how passionate you are about your point of view.
topchamp: Thanks! I must have been an interesting kid!
Steve: May a little dark and dramatic like Cohen, eh?! I must have been way ahead of my time but I sure didn't wear black too often!
Abigail: Thanks...well it's a little more so as an adult, maybe!
Saturday, April 07, 2007
MOI - what a great little rhyme!
I memorized poetry when I was a kid but I don't remember writing much of it except for one composed in Logic class during my hippie years that started:
This crazy world
It seems to me
Conforms to nonconformity...
Saturday, April 07, 2007
Happy Easter!!
and that is indeed a succinct poem, esp from a 3rd grader..
i love the way you remember your teacher, isnt it true how muhc some people let us grow with their encouragement..wish every child had someone like that in their lives..
Saturday, April 07, 2007
I like it. Very minimalist. :-)
Happy Easter.
Saturday, April 07, 2007
nancy: Yep, that's what kids are all about...get it down and out for recess!! Thanks for visiting.
Sunday, April 08, 2007
Sorry I forgot you 2!
Pauline: I love yours here! So true!
Mystic: Yes, I think most us can think of 1, I'd hope. I also hope that I was that one to a few kids! I know I have been for singing and playing guitar.
Sunday, April 08, 2007
That's great- a budding poet already at such a young age.
Happy Easter!
Sunday, April 08, 2007
Gewels: Thanks...my dad was a poet and inspired me. Hope your Easter was great!
Monday, April 09, 2007
:-D like the poem!
Monday, April 09, 2007
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